Fitness Sports

Magnesium is present in most of your body cells. It plays a starring role as a co-factor, meaning, it assists enzymes in catalysing (a catalyst is a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected) many necessary chemical reactions.

Magnesium affects many things that your ballet and sports require of you, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Here's a short list:

- nerve conduction, or the sending and receiving of messages affecting muscle response
- muscular movement affecting fluidity, accuracy and coordination
- bone metabolism, affecting your growth and development, as well as your immune system
- protein manufacture in the body which is extremely complex
- fat and carbohydrate metabolism. A new frontier being researched now is magnesium in relation to insulin resistance, which, once that condition begins, makes it harder to stay thin
- glucose utilization, affecting brain power and muscle power

Whether your goals in ballet/sports/fitness are personal and recreational, or professional, I'm sure you would want all the points made above functioning for optimum results in your muscles and brain.

Because magnesium allows the muscle contractions that occur to turn off, it helps control tension and spasms caused by over training, heavy practice or rehearsal days, and inaccurate technique.

Magnesium supplements can be bought in tablet or powder form. Always read labels, and select brands that do not have anything else added, except maybe fruit flavoring from natural sources that you recognize. Powdered magnesium digests faster. It's usually a good idea to take half the recommended dosage for a couple of days, to let your body get used to a nutrient that has been deficient. Magnesium can loosen the bowels at first, but that effect goes away within a day or so. Magnesium carbonate has the biggest affect this way. Magnesium citrate and magnesium lactate are known to digest better.

Because of the relaxing effect magnesium has, you may sleep more deeply, and high blood pressure may lower towards normal. Even irregularities of the heart muscle can be helped by magnesium.

Many flavoring foods are high in magnesium: dill, chives, celery seed, spearmint, sage, coriander and basil . Put fresh into salads or chopped and sprinkled on vegetables, meat or fish, these are all delicious.

So for strong bones, good muscle tone (which requires proper relaxation for strength), getting enough rest, and staying calm, eat magnesium! Best obtained from fresh foods, yet very helpful as a food-sourced supplement, it is a super star silent partner in your ballet/sports/fitness training.

By Dianne M.Buxton

Labels: 24 hour fitness, aerobics, exercise fitness, fitness, health fitness, leisure sports, personal trainer, sports, sports club, sports fitness, strength training

Anyone who wishes to participate in sports, be it just a pickup game with friends or for a league, it is important to have sport fitness training. Those playing sports feel that doing physical activity by participating in the sport is enough, additional exercise and sport fitness training is required only for those willing to become a professional athlete.

Finding Time

To excel in sports, one has to have a routine for sport fitness training which includes many common and additional exercises which will correspond to the muscles used mostly in each individual sport. If someone is part of an organized team, consult the coach to find out what the best exercises are that best suits each individual.

Working on these exercises in routine can be difficult, especially for those who go to school, work or have other responsibilities. Fortunately, there are many sport fitness training exercises that can be done at home even with little or no equipment. These exercises include light weightlifting, stretches, and cardio workouts. There are also other options available to take your fitness training outdoors. If one is living in a warm climate, jog or run daily. The possibilities are unlimited - all one has to do is to find time to do the training and you can see the results and become a better athlete.

To comprehend the results of sport fitness training, keep a record of the statistics. Keeping record of the time and the distance for jogging, how many reps completed in weightlifting and other such statistics that can measure progress. After six weeks, one can see the improvement and noticeable difference in the performance during the game which others also can notice. It would be a moment of pride for every individual to realize that they could get into shape with the support of sport fitness training.

To achieve better muscle training and workouts, one can also play another sport during leisure time to complement with the sport that any individual plays most. It will allow you to use and train muscles that may not be utilized during main sport.

By Shirly Yap

Labels: 24 hour fitness, aerobics, exercise fitness, fitness, health fitness, leisure sports, personal trainer, sports, sports club, sports fitness, strength training

Sports might be about getting fit, but that doesn't mean it's not without its gadgets. Whether you're running, cycling, snowboarding or swimming, gadgets can help you get the most out of training.

Here are a couple of great gadgets that will maximize your training, helping you on the road to victory.

Nike+ SportBand

The Nike+ SportBand allows runners to get real-time performance feedback during a run giving them information on their distance, pace, time and calories burned, in addition to gaining access to all of the features and tools on nike plus. The Nike+ SportBand watch face is a detachable link that captures all the run data from a sensor located in the runner's Nike+ ready footwear and once a run is completed, the link plugs into a computer like a USB drive, so data can be tracked. The system also offers Nike+ Coach so beginners and intermediate runners can access existing programmes to train for a 5k, 10k, half-marathon or full marathon.

Orange e-diet

Launching later in the year, the Orange e-diet is a text service in the UK that will allow you to monitor calories in the food you eat on the go. Users wanting to monitor what they eat will be able to text orange and get the calorie count back giving them the information of whether its good or bad for them before they buy.

Samsung miCoach fitness mobile phone

We've had camera-focused phones, we've had music-focused phones, and now Samsung is to launch a fitness-focused phone. Called the miCoach (F110), the quad-band slider handset will offer a dedicated fitness button that once connected to a heart rate monitor and a step counter will give you information about your heart beat, distance covered and time running when out on a run.

But rather than just record your information to download to a computer later, the phone, through the headphones, will give you running information on the fly by simply tapping the screen. Measuring your heartbeat, the phone will also tell you if you are running too fast or too slow, based on the fitness programme you have selected. The miCoach will offer over 220 training programmes via a fitness website ranging from plans focused towards you loosing weight or running a marathon and measure your running speed within four zones to best suit your training based on an initial assessment run.

Wii Fit

The computer game from Nintendo means you can play computer games and get fit at the same time. The Wii Fit comes bundled with the Wii Balance Board. It senses weight and shift in balance in any direction and therefore by standing on the Wii Balance Board during activities allows players to follow along to movements ensuring they have full control of the on-screen activities.

There are four training categories including Aerobic Exercises, Muscle Workouts, Yoga and Balance Games that Nintendo claim will help you (and your friends/family) to develop bodily balance control ability, burn fat in the body, help tone and condition muscles, as well as help increase aerobic stamina. Within those categories there are over 40 different activities such as Hula Hoop, Ski Jump, Press-up Challenge, Rhythm Boxing, Rowing Squat, Lunge and classic Yoga poses such as Half Moon, Tree and Crocodile Twist.

H20 Audio headphones

The H20 Audio headphones aren't any old headphones, but waterproof headphones that let you listen to your iPod to a depth of up to 10ft, or 3m, thanks to waterproof housing and waterproof speakers. Robust enough for active watersports thanks to a behind-the-neck design, silicone earplugs, and a durable neckwrap to keep them in place they cost around 26.99 pounds and means you'll be singing underwater as you do length after length.

By: Shaun Parker

Labels: 24 hour fitness, aerobics, exercise fitness, fitness, health fitness, leisure sports, personal trainer, sports, sports club, sports fitness, strength training

The 8 Training Principles are research-based guidelines that can help you accelerate your training progress and optimize your results. Knowing how to apply these principles gives you an educated basis on which you can make informed decisions about designing your fitness or sports training program. The principles can also help you evaluate the merits of fitness equipment and personal training services.

All of the principles complement each other. For best results, they should be applied in concert throughout every phase of training.

1. Principle of Specificity suggests that your body will make adjustments according to the type of training you perform and in the very same muscles that you exercise. How you train determines what you get.

This principle guides you in designing your fitness training program. If your goal is to improve your overall level of fitness, you would devise a well-rounded program that builds both endurance and overall body strength. If you want to build the size of your biceps, you would increase weight loads on bicep curls and related exercises.

2. The Principle of Overload implies that you must continually increase training loads as your body adapts over time. Because your body builds and adjusts to your existing training regimen, you must gradually and systematically increase your work load for continued improvement.

A generally accepted guideline for weight training is to increase resistance not more than 10% per week. You can also use percentages of your maximum or estimated maximum level of performance and work out within a target training zone of about 60-85% of maximum. As your maximum performance improves, your training loads will increase, as well.

3. The Principle of Recovery assets that you must get adequate rest between workouts in order to recuperate. How much rest you need depends upon your training program, level of fitness, diet, and other factors.

Generally, if you perform a total body weight workout three days per week, rest at least 48 hours between sessions. You can perform cardio more frequently and on successive days of the week.

Over time, too little recovery can result in signs of over training. Excessively long periods of recovery time can result in a detraining effect.

4. The Principle of Reversibility refers to the loss of fitness that results after you stop training. In time, you will revert back to your pre-training condition. The biological principle of use and disuse underlies this principle. Simply stated, If you don't use it, you lose it.

While adequate recovery time is essential, taking long breaks results in detraining effects that may be noticeable within a few weeks. Significant levels of fitness are lost over longer periods. Only about 10% of strength is lost 8 weeks after training stops, but 30-40% of endurance is lost in the same time period.

The Principle of Reversibility does not apply to skills. The effects of stopping practice of motor skills, such as weight training exercises and sport skills, are very different. Coordination appears to store in long-term motor memory and remains nearly perfect for decades. A skill once learned is never forgotten.

5. The Principle of Variation implies that you should consistently change aspects of your workouts. Training variations should always occur within ranges that are aligned with your training directions and goals. Varying exercises, sets, reps, intensity, volume, and duration, for example, prevents boredom and promotes more consistent improvement over time. A well-planned training program set up in phases offers built-in variety to workouts, and also prevents over training.

6. The Principle of Transfer suggests that workout activities can improve the performance of other skills with common elements, such as sport skills, work tasks, or other exercises. For example, performing explosive squats can improve the vertical jump due to their common movement qualities. But dead lifting would not transfer well to marathon swimming due to their very dissimilar movement qualities.

7. The Principle of Individualization suggests that fitness training programs should be adjusted for personal differences, such as abilities, skills, gender, experience, motivation, past injuries, and physical condition. While general principles and best practices are good guides, each person's unique qualities must be part of the exercise equation. There is no one size fits all training program.

8. The Principle of Balance is a broad concept that operates at different levels of healthy living. It suggests that you must maintain the right mix of exercise, diet, and healthy behaviors. Falling out of balance may cause a variety of conditions (e.g., anemia, obesity) that affect health and fitness. In short, it suggests all things in moderation.

If you go to extremes to lose weight or build fitness too quickly, your body will soon respond. You could experience symptoms of over training until you achieve a healthy training balance that works for you.

For fitness training, balance also applies to muscles. If opposing muscles (e.g., hamstrings and quadriceps in the upper legs) are not strengthened in the right proportions, injuries can result. Muscle imbalances also contribute to tendonitis and postural deviations.

By: Denise K. Wood, Ed.D.

Labels: agility, conditioning, endurance, exercise training, fitness training, personal training, sports fitness, strength, strength training, training programs, weight training